Figure Skating
Figure skating is an artistic skating sport conducted on an ice rink, in which athletes wear specially designed skates to compete. The objective of the sport is to perform several moves, as athletes skate around the entire rink.
Competitions are conducted for multiple disciplines, some of which are, singles, pair skating, ice dancing, synchronized skating, fours, and theater on ice. Only the first three listed disciplines are conducted for the Olympics.
For each discipline, multiple routines have to be performed by athletes, like a short program and a long program that are performed for the singles and pairs events. The routines will include many moves, with some as compulsory moves that have to performed. The compulsory moves vary between multiple disciplines. All the moves fall into four major category, which are, jumps, spins, lifts, and compulsory figures.
figure skaterEach routine is evaluated based on several factors like quality and execution of each move, by 12 judges, and points are awarded. The individual or team which scores the most points at the end of the competition is adjudged the winner.
Winter Olympics, World Championships, European Championships, Four Continents Championships, and the Grand Prix series are some of the major competitions held for figure stating.
Similar Sports
- Synchronized Skating — a sport of the figure skating discipline in which 8 to 20 skaters perform routines as a team on an ice rink.
- Ice Dancing — one of the events in figure skating, which has its roots in ballroom dancing.
- Ice Skating Sports
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